Get Assistance to Pay your Maryland Heating Bills

Winter is a tough time in Maryland for many people. That chill gets into the air and you need to turn the heat up in your home in order to stay warm and healthy. When you do this, your energy bills naturally go up in cost. With a long winter ahead, it can be tough to figure out how you’re going to pay those higher bills. Luckily, the state of Maryland’s Office of Home Energy Program is available to help many MD residents pay their winter energy bills.

The MD Office of Home Energy offers four different programs to low-income residents who may need help paying their heating bills this winter. Those programs are:

1. Maryland Energy Assistance Program (MEAP). This is a general program designed to assist MD residents in making payments on their energy bills. It also offers some limited assistance to residents who need to replace broken or inefficient furnaces in their homes this winter.


2. Electric Universal Service Program (EUSP). This is a program designed to help residents who have current electric bills as well as past due bills that need to be paid. It also helps pay for energy efficiency measures that can reduce the future cost of electric bills.


3. Utility Service Protection Program (USPP). This is a program that is designed to make sure that people don’t have their electricity cut off during the winter months due to non-payment of bills. It sets up a year-long payment system so that the person’s energy bills are always the same from month to month, making it easier to budget for payment of the bill throughout the year.


4. Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP). The MD Office of Home Energy can refer MD residents to the state’s Department of Housing and Community Development for this program. What it does is it pays for the cost of winterizing your Maryland home. With proper weatherization, your home will be more energy efficient and therefore your energy bills will be lower and easier to pay.

Maryland residents should contact the state’s Office of Home Energy to determine whether or not they are eligible for this type of heating bill assistance to lower their MD energy bills this year. Eligibility is determined by household size and income. Those residents who don’t qualify for these programs may be eligible for other assistance through the Maryland Department of Human Resources.